Comcast 2012 Annual Report Download - page 38

Table of Contents
In addition, intellectual property constitutes a significant part of the value of NBCUniversal’
s businesses, and our success is highly
dependent on protecting intellectual property rights in the content we create or acquire against third-
party misappropriation,
reproduction or infringement. The unauthorized reproduction, distribution or display of copyrighted material negatively affects our
ability to generate revenue from the legitimate sale of our content, as well as from the sale of advertising on our content, and
increases our costs due to our active enforcement of protecting our intellectual property rights. Piracy and other unauthorized uses of
content are made easier, and the enforcement of intellectual property rights more challenging, by technological advances allowing
the conversion of programming, films and other content into digital formats, which facilitates the creation, transmission and sharing of
high-quality unauthorized copies. In particular, piracy of programming and films through unauthorized distribution on DVDs, peer-to-
peer computer networks and other platforms continues to present challenges for our cable networks, broadcast television and filmed
entertainment businesses. While piracy is a challenge in the United States, it is particularly prevalent in many parts of the world that
lack developed copyright laws, effective enforcement of copyright laws and technical protective measures like those in effect in the
United States. If any U.S. or international laws intended to combat piracy and protect intellectual property rights are repealed or
weakened or are not adequately enforced, or if the legal system fails to adapt to new technologies that facilitate piracy, we may be
unable to effectively protect our rights, and the value of our intellectual property may be negatively impacted and our costs of
enforcing our rights may increase. See “Business – Legislation and Regulation – Other Areas of Regulation – Intellectual Property”
above for additional information.
We may be unable to obtain necessary hardware, software and operational support.
We depend on third-
party vendors to supply us with a significant amount of the hardware, software and operational support
necessary to provide certain of our services. Some of these vendors represent our primary source of supply or grant us the right to
incorporate their intellectual property into some of our hardware and software products. While we actively monitor the operations and
financial condition of key vendors in an attempt to detect any potential difficulties, there can be no assurance that we would timely
identify any operating or financial difficulties associated with these vendors or that we could effectively mitigate our risks with respect
to any such difficulties. If any of these vendors experience operating or financial difficulties or if demand exceeds their capacity or
they otherwise cannot meet our specifications, our ability to provide some services may be adversely affected.
Labor disputes, whether involving employees or sports organizations, may disrupt our operations and adversely affect our
businesses.
Many of NBCUniversal’
s employees, including writers, directors, actors, technical and production personnel and others, as well as
some of our on-air and creative talent and cable communications’
employees, are covered by collective bargaining agreements or
works councils. If we are unable to reach agreement with a labor union before the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement,
our employees who were covered by that agreement may have a right to strike or take other actions that could adversely affect us.
Moreover, many of NBCUniversal’s collective bargaining agreements are industry-
wide agreements, and we may lack practical
control over the negotiations and terms of the agreements. A labor dispute involving our employees may result in work stoppages or
disrupt our operations and reduce our revenue, and resolution of disputes may increase our costs. There can be no assurance that
we will renew our collective bargaining agreements as they expire or that we can renew them on favorable terms or without any work
stoppages.
In addition, our cable networks and broadcast television networks have programming rights agreements of varying scope and
duration with various sports organizations to broadcast and produce sporting events, including certain NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB
games. Labor disputes in these and other sports organizations could have an adverse effect on our businesses.
35
Comcast 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-
K